Page 55 of Devil's Cage

That man didn’t exist. If my father hadn’t made sure of that, becoming boss of the Michaelson family sure had.

Except Lia said in a soft voice, “It’s more than that.” She paused, and I felt my heart take off. “And I think you know it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ty

Lia wasn't pushing my buttons exactly, but once again, she didn't know what she was getting into. Sliding one of my hands down to her well-spanked ass, I took a fistful of cheek and dug my fingers in, reminding her of her place and her pain.

But at the same time, I couldn’t help but catch her mouth for a deep kiss.

Before I knew it, my hand had released her, and I only focused on our kiss. When we broke apart, we were both panting, and I shut my eyes, letting my forehead rest against hers.

“We really need to get out of this shower,” I said. “And take a nap.”

“A nap?” Lia asked, and then she let out a massive yawn, blinking sleepily at me. “Oh, yeah, okay.” Then she brightened. “Wait, we? As in together?”

I stood up with her in my arms, and she squeaked. Setting her down, I didn’t answer but grabbed the soap and began to lather her body. At first, Lia tried to take the soap away, insisting she could do it, but I simply walked her back into the shower wall and kissed her.

“Shut up and let me take care of you,” I growled in between kisses. Then I knelt and pressed a kiss to her stomach while also running the bar of soap up and down her legs.

Lia tugged playfully on my hair but submitted. All in all, by the time we were both finally clean, the water was lukewarm – a thing I didn’t even consider possible judging by the size of our heater in the house.

Back in the bedroom, Lia waited by the side of the bed as I removed the ruined sheet and blanket then threw down new ones. Immediately, she crawled in and snuggled into the middle of the bed, watching as I stalked over and found my phone.

I almost swore out loud when I saw the time. How the fuck was it almost five? Drawing a hand over my face, I glanced at Lia, who smiled at me, and something strange — almost foreign to my body — spun tight in my chest.

Thankfully, from my lack of messages, nothing urgent had come up. Still, it was with a mingle of guilt and gratitude that I walkedback to bed. Setting an alarm for an hour from now, I climbed in – noticing how Lia’s gaze swept up and down my body.

Her face was a bit pink as I pulled her against me and a string of tension, that – without me realizing – had built itself back up, immediately eased. She was here with me in my bed and her smile was so gorgeous and as radiant as the sun itself.

“Are you sore?” I asked in a voice gruffer than I meant to. Not that I regretted how hard I’d pushed her, nor did I ever plan on ever taking her sweet and vanilla after the way she’d responded today; the way I’dknownshe’d respond. But still — we’d had over a half-day marathon of foreplay and fucking.

“In a good way,” Lia said in an arch tone that made me want to kiss her as much as it made me want to take her over my lap and spank her. “Ty, what I said earlier—”

Needing to change the subject, since that wasn’t a conversation I could handle right now, I blurted out what I’d meant to tell Lia this morning — after I apologized and before I’d gotten distracted for several hours. “He’s alive.”

At first, Lia frowned, thrown for a loop and confused, then her eyes slowly lit up. I couldn’t help but smile and nod before she asked in a breathless voice, “Mickey Weiss? The cop—he’s alive?”

“Weiss is alive,” I said dryly.

Lia pressed closer, and I tried not to groan. “How is he? Is he in the hospital, or did you take him somewhere to get him treated? Did they say whether he’d recover? Or if—”

“Easy,” I interrupted. “How about this? Rather than have me mangle the information, you can visit him one day this week. You just gotta go with one of my guys, someone I trust to keep an eye on you — and keep you out of trouble.”

Lia nodded vigorously. “I’m fine with that.” Her eyes softened. “Thank you.”

“Don't fucking mention it,” I said with an eyeroll that I couldn't quite pull off, at least, not from the way that Lia gave me a knowing eyeroll in return.

“Fine,” Lia said and leaned over, stealing a quick kiss, before turning over. This time, I let out a rough sound as her naked back and ass pressed against my front. My cock was already half-hard, dammit. “And I won’t bring up the topic from earlier again.” She paused. “Not for a few days, at least.”

“Lia,” I warned, even as I wanted to laugh.

She wriggled back against me, and I growled into her hair, wrapping my arms around her. Goddamn, she fit so well, too well.

Silence stretched out. I tried to close my eyes, take advantage of this time to relax and recharge but I was strangely restless. ThenI realized that Lia wasn’t asleep either; her hands were rubbing small, gentle circles over my knuckles.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, a brief flicker of rage kindling within me.

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